Despite the concerns, Alcaraz generated a set point off the back of his first drop shot of the match (a clean winner) and a follow-up finish at the net. The home favorite denied his rival with an audacious deep second serve out wide, before backing it up with a pair of untouchable rockets.
While Sinner gifted Alcaraz a flubbed reply to a poor drop shot early in the tie-break, the top seed struck successive backhand unforced errors to hand over the mini break. At 5-4, Sinner ended a 17-shot rally with a clear lob winner—and closed out the 79-minute set with another well-placed first serve.
With his right hamstring wrapped, Alcaraz immediately regrouped by becoming the first player to break Sinner during the tournament. But in the sixth game, a stroke of luck went Sinner’s way in getting back on serve. At 30-40, the 24-year-old’s high-flying mishit return landed in and he soon ended the point by exposing Alcaraz’s compromised movement with a drop-shot winner.
The six-time major winner had a chance to earn a re-break in the following game, though overhit a forehand in a stretch of play that saw Sinner work the crowd. After extending the encounter at 4-5, Alcaraz couldn’t do the same two games later. At deuce, Sinner’s backhand pass drew a netted volley and on his first championship point, the San Candido soaked up his latest winning moment when Alcaraz yanked his crosscourt backhand wide.
